Journal

Friday, August 3, 2012

Here's a quick bit of mildly interesting rambling. I'm not sure how I'll tie it to writing or reading, but I figure this is something most folks can appreciate. Apparently, there's this whole thing called the "Olympics" going on. Right, I know, crazy.

There's just enough time between Olympics that I've almost always found myself in a completely different stage of life when each is occurs. In a way, they sort of mark the passage of time.

Also, it's the only time where I turn on my TV and say, "Yeah, sure, I'll watch women's field hockey. I mean, the US is playing." Then, by the end of the match, I'm yelling at the TV: "That should be a free shot! Totally dangerous sticking! Bah!" Like I know what I'm talking about.

Gymnastics is the worst. By the time we've gotten through the team competitions to individual all-around, everyone is a judge. I'm sitting there thinking, "Well, she'll lose 2 tenths for that balance check, but the difficulty is high so it should factor out, right?" And, "1.58572343 deductions! Rough crowd." And finally, "If she doesn't get less than a point taken off, then there is no justice in the world."

Maybe the connection here is that, as humans, we love to judge. It's pervasive in every culture. Sure, our particular opinions may vary widely, but we're united in the sense that we form those opinions. The Olympics are not only a great reminder of the global diversity that exists, but also that there are a lot of basic things that we share as humans.

As writers and readers, we already know this. Look at reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. We're handing out gold, silver, and bronze for a spectacular performance. And, at the end of the day, it may be the books that "win" are ones that capture best our shared humanity.